Philadelphia is moving forward without Jalen Hurts, and Tanner McKee is suddenly the man in charge.
Hurts will miss Week 6 because of a superficial blood clot, opening the door for McKee to start against the Carolina Panthers. It’s a jarring turn for the Eagles, but also a reminder that in this division, the quarterback picture can change fast. The New York Giants are already living that reality with Jameis Winston, and the parallels are obvious enough to make the NFC East feel a lot less settled than it did a week ago.
Winston has steadied a Giants team that lost Jaxson Dart to a season-ending knee injury. The results haven’t always been clean, but New York has avoided a loss in Winston’s first three starts, with one tie against Washington mixed in.
That kind of immediate lift is exactly why McKee can’t be dismissed as a temporary placeholder. If he settles in, the Eagles could get a similar jolt.
The Giants were forced to overhaul their offense after Dart went down, scrapping the designed quarterback runs and extension plays that fit his mobility. In their place came a more traditional under-center attack built around 21 personnel, with two running backs, one tight end and two wide receivers. Philadelphia may end up adjusting in a different way now that McKee is stepping in.
McKee is a pocket passer who can stand tall and let it rip. He’s 6-foot-6, 231 pounds, and he has the arm to test defenses downfield. That’s a different look from Hurts, and it gives the Eagles a chance to reshape the offense around what McKee does best.
Still, this isn’t a simple one-for-one swap. The Eagles may be sliding, but they still carry the bones of a playoff team, with All-Pro-level talent on all three levels of the defense. The bigger issue is what McKee is walking into on offense.
Philadelphia is down to its fourth-string running back, missing its top two wide receivers and dealing with the loss of its future Hall of Fame right tackle to an impromptu retirement. Hurts had already been grinding through a tough situation, and that makes McKee’s assignment a lot harsher than Winston’s in New York.
McKee, a sixth-round pick in 2023, has made two career starts. One of them came in a 2024 regular-season finale, when he lit up the Giants in a meaningless game by completing 27 of 41 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns while taking two sacks for a loss of 17 yards.
The Eagles said they ran an ultrasound “out of an abundance of caution,” and that it revealed a superficial blood clot. Follow-up imaging showed “movement in the small blood clot,” which led to Hurts being ruled out for the Panthers game.
For now, the situation remains open-ended. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Hurts is sidelined “indefinitely,” and noted that blood clot absences are usually “measured in months, not weeks.” Rapoport also said Hurts is receiving treatment and “off field until his medical situation is solved,” adding that it’s “probably going to be a while.”
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